Greetings ....
The only Lafayette items I ever had were the catalogs, some from the late 1960s, and nearly all from the 1970s.
My cousins owned the Lafayette LA-750 amplifier, which offered an estimated minimum 10 watts continuous power per channel.
Would have liked to have owned the Lafayette LA-125TA amplifier, offered in the 1970 (# 700) and 1971 (# 710) catalogs. This unit put out an estimated minimum 22 watts continuous power per channel, good enough for most in-home setups with the right speakers. The LA-125TA had independently selectable magnetic and ceramic phono inputs, as well as inputs for tuner, aux, mic and tape monitor. With proper care, the ceramic phono input could have served as a 2nd aux input.
Regarding the LA-125TA's MIC input, you may note that it is a single jack, but is the 3-conductor type, same as the jack for stereo headphones. To attach two microphones, you needed a special Y-adapter cable. If a pre-made Y-adapter wasn't readily available for your specific needs, you could build one using parts offered by many sources.
The LA-125B, the LA-125TA's successor, first offered in Lafayette's 1972 (# 720) catalog, was tested by High Fidelity magazine in its February 1972 issue. The article concluded that the LA-125B was worthy of consideration. There was one downbeat observation - the ceramic phono inputs on the LA-125B were no longer independently selectable. They would be disabled when a magnetic phono unit was attached -- BUMMER !!!
Lafayette's LT-725 AM-FM tuner series has its own interesting history. The original 725 unit, as offered in the 1970 (# 700) catalog, included a switch to access SCA non-commercial programs on FM stations carrying such services. Within months of the LT-725's introduction, the FCC issued a ruling that home-based FM tuners and receivers could not be offered with the SCA feature. When Lafayette's 1971 (# 710) catalog was published, the LT-725 was still being offered, but with the SCA button (and, presumably, the circuitry too) disabled.
In spite of the FCC ruling, auxillary SCA adapters were readily available from many firms. SWTPC (Southwest Technical Products) was among those offering an SCA adapter in both kit and wired form.
The 725's successor unit, the LT-725A, was was introduced in the 1972 (# 720) catalog, with a MUTE button in place of the previous SCA button. High Fidelity magazine would test the LT-725A in its January 1972 issue. The test results ranged from good to excellent, and the magazine concluded that the LT-725A could be considered as "an above-average contender".
Thanx-A-Lotte from Frankosport4
